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Damages

In nearly three months on the road, mostly spent camping and travelling, I’ve had a number of things break or die on me. In some ways it’s surprising, in others I suppose expected. Here’s a quick rundown as of today:

Panasonic FS-10 Digital Camera: This little guy was amazing. For the last year, it’s been my main camera and has held up through some serious abuse in South America and Asia, not to mention all the times it came out at parties and whatnot back home. It’s been dropped, thrown out of mototaxis, bounced down hills, frozen in snow, covered in sand, and kept on ticking…  Until I took it out for some pictures on the AlCan and the lense mechanism finally jammed for good. RIP.

Sony PRS300 E-Reader: I can’t travel without an e-reader anymore, they are so simple and small and easy to deal with compared to bringing books. This one came all over Asia with me and survived being recharged and partially blown out at a suspect plug at 15k feet in the Himalayas, but finally gave up the ghost just last week. The screen is totally fubar – there had been a small messed up indentation for a few months and one morning it had spread. Screen no workie. Had to buy a PRS600 to replace it. RIP.

Transcend 16GB SD Card: A year of being pulled out and pushed into various slots finally took its toll and one of my cards had the plastic cover fall apart and break into pieces, rendering it useless with photos still on it. Argh.  RIP.

Big Agnes Air Core Pad: My main piece of camping gear for well over two years, I adore my air core pad because it makes it easy, warm, and comfortable to sleep everywhere. I’ve used it at least 40 times before this trip and at least 70 times on it – but a few nights ago it started to slowly leak and as of two nights ago it will lose all its air within two hours. The leak is too slow to pin down and seal without a bathtub so I’m stuck with waking up on hard ground at night. A bummer, but I’ve definitely gotten my money’s worth by a long shot considering how many times I have inflated and deflated this guy. Now I just need to find somewhere to buy a replacement…  RIP.

Chuck Taylors: Okay, I’m still using these but they are completely shot. The sole is mostly separated on the right sneaker and both of them are literally falling apart at the seams. They are so comfy though…  I’m going to keep wearing ‘em until I can’t.

Canon T2i / EOS 550D DSLR: Purchased brand new for this trip primarily for its video capabilities, my T2i started crashing any time I take video in Seattle. I’ve tried two different SD cards both of which worked fine before and different resolutions and no matter what, it completely crashes within a second of starting. Hopefully I can warranty it when I get home, otherwise I wasted a LOT of money on this POS. At least it still takes photos…


Notice it’s mostly electronics falling to pieces? To be expected, I suppose, especially after the abuse I’ve put most of them through. I can’t complain – I’m just happy my laptop has still survived!

Onward towards home…

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